WHEN Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) secretary-general Baru Bian showed up at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between his party and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, tongues were wagging as he was not togged up in the party shirt.

Instead, the Ba’Kelalan assemblyman came in a black coat, making him stand out among those around him.

Sharp-eyed political analyst of the University of Tasmania James Chin speculated it probably was a signal that “he is not happy with the collaboration”.

Chin said he would not be surprised if Baru would “do something over the next couple of months”.

He, however, said there is a caveat. “Of course, it will depend on the shape the collaboration will take.”

Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg added fuel to the speculation when he told reporters on Friday that he had been informed that some PSB members wanted to return to their original party.

He did not name anyone specifically but it was enough for some people to point their fingers at Baru, who joined PSB in May 2020 after being sacked by PKR.

The former Sarawak PKR chairman is, however, finding the speculation hilarious.

“My dressing wasn’t intentional,” he said in response to The Malaysian Insight’s queries.

He said he had been in Kuala Lumpur for three weeks, recuperating from a hip injury.

Baru said he was asked to be present at the PSB-PDP memorandum signing just a day before.

“No party shirt in KL, so I dressed the best I could,” he said.

Dismissing the speculation, Baru said he is “sincerely for this move”.

“I will make a statement after everything is achieved, that is, the merger,” he said.

The three-term assemblyman – he first won the seat in the 2011 state elections on the PKR ticket – said the political collaboration “is good for the Dayak community”.

The MOU states that both parties will work together in the spirit of “segulai sejalai” (“walking together” in the Iban language) for the betterment of the people of Sarawak.

Upon the signing, both parties will form a committee “to liaise with each other from time to time as to the development of the working mutual understanding between the parties”. – July 16, 2023.